The vast gardens that span from the mountain foot to its peak are a sight to behold, drawing crowds from all over.
Venturing into a plum forest in Tan Lap village, we were immediately captivated by the stunning red-purple plum branches that are still dusted with a delicate white layer. These bountiful branches hang among the lush green leaves, a true natural wonder.
The allure of these ripe and fruitful plum branches was not lost on my children. They were fascinated, reaching out to touch them repeatedly, urging me to capture images of these captivating plums.
Joining a plum picking tour, I acted as a farmer, picking fruit and paying 50,000 VND (2.1 USD) per kilo.
The purple plums are fresh and sweet.
Plum garden owner Pham Van Hong said he welcomes a hundred visitors and travellers a day to pick fruit.
Some guests picked ten kilos a day to bring home as gifts to their relatives.
Locally known as man hau (hau plums), Hong said after eating a plum, eaters said the taste lingers in their mouths.
The trees were first planted in Moc Chau in the 1980s and later spread to other regions like Sa Pa, Ha Giang and others. However, plums planted in Moc Chau have the best taste.
“The hau plum has helped to bring Moc Chau to the map of Vietnam’s fruit centre that is known far and wide, luring an increasing guest, including foreign tourists to the area,” he said.
From the Moc Chau, touring along the road from Tan Lap village to Son La city, you can enjoy the dazzlingly white colour of plum flowers in spring, which turns purple-red in summer, Hong said.
Many people prefer to dip hau plums in salt mixed with fresh chilli while others bring it home to make it become salted-sugared plums that are unforgettable, he said.
Nguyen Thi Hoa, Deputy Chairwoman of Moc Chau district People’s Committee, said the district often organises picking plum festival every year to create opportunities for growers to co-operate with businesses inside and outside the country to mobilise social finance to help Moc Chau’s plums to become special products to serve customers.
“We hope that businesses will invest in postharvest processing such as plum juice or plum jam,” Hoa said.
She told Viet Nam News that there are many plum-picking destinations in Moc Chau, such as Phieng Khoang Mountain Peak with ancient plump trees, many of them are 50 years old.
But the most famous one is Na Ka plum valley in Tan Lap village. With more than 100 hectares of plum, the valley has been chosen to hold plum picking festival since 2014 in the middle of May every year, with hundreds of visitors flocking in.
The plum season starts from April to July./.
